1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiple-lens image pickup apparatus equipped with a plurality of image pickup optical systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stereocameras (stereoscopic cameras) including a plurality of image pickup optical systems are known. These stereocameras compose a plurality of image information taken through the plurality of image pickup optical systems for the formation of a stereoscopic image. Panoramic cameras are also made to compose a plurality of image information taken through a plurality of image pickup optical systems for the formation of a panoramic image.
This applicant has also proposed a multiple-lens camera including a plurality of image pickup systems in which the lens-barrel for each image pickup system is set to be rotatable with respect to the camera body to vary the convergence angles for each system. This allows a user to select one of two image pickup modes: a stereoscopic image pickup and a panoramic image pickup.
However, with these known multiple-lens cameras, users experience difficulty in accurately viewing a subject through a viewfinder in the two photographing modes (stereoscopic and a panoramic), that is, operability decreases when photographing a high-accuracy stereoscopic image composition or panoramic image composition.